The Pre-Weekend Recap: August 8, 2014

Yes, it is indeed the Pre-Weekend Recap for the week of August 8, 2014! This week saw a tremendous amount of content published by all of the fantastic contributors to the site. There were written movie reviews, new shows and features, podcasts, articles, and the announcement of One Of Us’ first anniversary celebration, Fest Of Us!

 

 

 

That’s right, next weekend, August 15th through the 17th, we’ll be holding a ridiculous series of meetups, events, and live podcasts to mark the site’s first birthday. For more detail about Fest Of Us, check out the Facebook event page here!

And of course, it wouldn’t be a recap without information about some of the features we posted this week. Everything you need is down below, all you have to do is read, click, listen/read again, and enjoy!

Salt Episode 3: La Morgue

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The latest episode of Salt, the audio drama spinoff of Jason Neulander’s The Intergalactic Nemesis, dropped this week and it is stellar! This podcast chronicles the adventures of Jean-Pierre Desperois, a salt smuggler with the power to travel through space and time, thanks to a bizarre voodoo ritual that took place when he was born. In the third entry of this season, Jean-Pierre dines with Gatete, utilizes an onion in an unconventional manner, and drops by the morgue. What information does he discover and which answers bring about more questions? Well, listen in and find out! If you’ve missed the first and/or the second episodes, you can find them both right here.

 

Rise of the Lounge Geeks Shows!

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That image is somewhat incorrect, because as of this week, the move is complete! Each of the five formerly-Lounge Geeks features dropped an edition in the last few days. Here’s a description of each one and what the subject matter was:

– Five & Out, the show all about making lists and ranking subjects relevant to a geeky audience, actually posted its SECOND episode on One Of Us, Robot Characters! Wes and Steve talk about their favorite bots, the LEGO games, and a less-than-impressive Hamlet. Don’t forget to give their inaugural episode, Childhood Toys, right here!

Public Axis’s 86th episode is its first one on our site. The show is hosted by Comedia A Go-Go, a San Antonio-based collective of incredibly funny people. Each week, the hosts are joined in a roundtable discussion by guest comedians, filmmakers, artists, and other creative types to talk about all manner of geekery and nerd-dom. On the latest episode, Comedia A Go-Go is joined by Stephanie Guerra (@PuroPincheSA) and Brenda Munoz (@PuroSanAntonio) to talk about What-A-Burger, Flaming Hot Cheetos, and some of the great events happening around San Antonio.

– Heavy Meta is a blog written by the great and powerful Vince Smith, a writer and podcaster at The Rogues’ Gallery. Vince breaks down trends in geek culture to evaluate what is occurring in the media we love and speculate what is to come. In his first post for One Of Us, he’s talking about pandering. Should we accept the big changes coming to Marvel Comics as good-faith efforts to increase diversity in flagship titles or is it a shallow plan to sell more books in the short term? Regardless of the nature of the changes, should we embrace them? Let Vince lay some knowledge on you!

– The Spinoff Showdown is out and Welcome to Springfield is in! In this brand new feature, former LG columnist Andrew Semkow is going to rewatch  and review every single episode of The Simpsons, chronicling what made the show such a lauded cultural icon and speculating about what has changed, for better or worse, in the show’s 25 years. There’s not better place to start than from the beginning, so check out what Andrew has to say about Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire, the very first episode of Matt Groening’s animated juggernaut.

– Finally, we have Geeks@College, a show hosted by a group of talented students at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Not only do they give their perspective(s) on what’s happening in geek media, they also give you a behind the scenes look at some of their courses of study, which include film, comics, animation, and more. On their first show here, they’re going crazy about Guardians of the Galaxy, because of course they are.

Please do give each of these features a hearty welcome to One Of Us by listening, reading, and commenting on their pages!

 

 Ash & Fern: One ticket, please!

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Despite what some people might say, going to the movies by yourself is pretty great. Just ask Fern, she’s been doing it for some time now and says it’s her preferred viewing method. In this post to the Ash & Fern blog, you’ll find out what first drove our intrepid heroine to make the solo sojourn to the cinema, what advantages going to a film alone can bring, and just how common the practice is. If you’ve ever wanted to trek out to the theater on your own but were too scared of the social stigma, let Fern dispel the doubt for you. You’ll be off to the movies on your own in no time!

 

Infestation: Wrapping Up San Diego Comic-Con

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While the flood of nerds has since receded and Hall H has long been abandoned, we haven’t heard about Brian and Chris’ adventures at San Diego Comic Con yet! Thankfully, that all changed yesterday with this post. The duo becomes a trio as Martin joins them on mic to talk about the One Of Us meetup and bar crawl, discuss some of the biggest announcements and reveals made at the con, and drop names like they are hot. If you weren’t jealous that you couldn’t go to SDCC before, you will be after listening to this!

 

The Original Gentlemen: Danni Danger Zone

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What’s that? You want more Martin, more Chris, and more Brian, except louder and more Beau-like? Well, thankfully for you, the Original Gentlemen also dropped an episode this week! Not only do you have the old trio, they are joined by guest Danni Danger, a  Weird Girls contributor and Geekie Awards nominee. Danni guides the guys through a discussion about gender issues is geek culture, cosplay, and some of the comics she’s particularly fond of at the moment. And since it was his birthday, they let Beau pick the song of the week. It’s all that OG goodness you love, so listen to it already!

If you like what you’ve seen here, please be sure to share our stuff with others who might enjoy it. In addition, please consider becoming one of our proud subscribers! There are plenty of benefits for those who are generous enough to contribute to the site each month, so don’t miss out on your chance to earn some exclusive rewards! Have a great weekend!

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Highly Suspect Reviews: ‘Into The Storm’

Review: Into The Storm.


Review: Into The Storm.


Into theaters we’re thrown, will this flick elicit scorn?


Like a bad disaster clone, still Twister stands alone.


Review: Into The Storm.

 


Brian, Chris, and J.C. strap themselves in for this whirlwind, and of course Highly Suspect, review of a found footage Twister knockoff. Would the gimmick be enough to make it entertaining? Or would Into the Storm thoroughly blow? Find out!

 

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Inside The Locker: Summer Season Power Rankings

Brace yourselves, sports nerds, this episode of Inside the Locker is NBA-Jam-packed with awesome! That’s right, we’re heating up!


We cover some of the biggest, as well as the weirdest, sports headlines (once again relating all of them to something in the more traditional geek spheres). We also bring in our new MMA correspondent Vincent Smith for a UFC status report. Finally, we rank the summer movie seasons of the last six years to determine which year truly stood out as the best.


All that, plus one of the funniest athlete Twitter stories you’ve ever heard.

 


Show Breakdown…

 


Scores & Stories (3:48)

Injury


The gruesome Paul George injury, David Wilson’s tearful farewell to football, Andy Dalton’s dubious new contract, Love is coming to Cleveland, ESPN suspends one of its anchors for tarnishing its LeBrand, Spurs hire female coach.

 


The Corner Man (51:40)

UFC


The working title of our new semi-regular MMA segment with our brand new fight correspondent Vincent Smith. Vince, who also writes the Heavy Meta column for us, breaks down the fighters and the fights to watch. But wait, how do Iko Uwais and Tony Jaa fit into this?

 


Main Segment: Summer Movie Season Power Rankings (71:32)

Summer 2014


Going back to 2008, we examine best and worst that each summer’s cinema had to offer to determine which year gave us the best summer movie season. The winner…might surprise you.

 


Make sure to follow us on Twitter, otherwise we’ll make you attend a candle-lit dinner with Shannon Briggs and Wladimir Klitschko

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The Show Account–@ITLCast
Brian–@BriguySalisbury
J.C.–@jcdeleon1
Elliott–@ITLElliott
Adam–@the_beef

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Geeks@College Episode 102: Awesome Mix Vol. 3

In their One of Us debut, the Geeks@College (Taylor, Chris and Kaycee) cruise through the cosmos with Marvel’s latest blockbuster, Guardians of the Galaxy!

Are the Guardians the next great movie heroes (just like Kevin Bacon) or does it leave us cold like the depths of space?

Tune in to find out!
 

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Highly Suspect Reviews: ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’

They’re the world’s most fearsome film reviewers.

OneOfUs Unusual Suspects

They’re heroes who are half-drunk, and they’re mean (to bad movies)

OneOfUs Unusual Suspects

When the evil Hollywood machine attacks, these Unusual Suspects don’t cut ’em no slack.

 

Would Brian, Chris, J.C., Richard, or Ed find something to like about this latest mutation of the evergreen (rimshot) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise? Or would Jonathan Liebesman prove to be just as inept a filmmaker here as he has his entire career? Not to mention, let’s face it, no small amount of influence from the Bay-hemoth himself!

Crawl into your favorite sewer, cuddle up next to your furry rodent sensei, and prepare for this Highly Suspect review, dudes!

 

 

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World of UScast: The British Bodcast: Episode 6

Duke and Kia this week are still getting over how good Guardians Of The Galaxy was.

Kia gives her opinion on the Star Wars OT and they finish off discussing amazing custom Lego sets including a SHIELD helicarrier with over 26,000 pieces!

 

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Infestation: Wrapping Up San Diego Comic-Con

Hey! Remember Comic-Con?

Brian, Chris, and Martin certainly do, and they’re here to give their final account of what Martin has dubbed Nerd Vegas.

In addition to regaling you, the listener, with stories of their various misadventures and details about the OneOfUs Rockstar Party, the guys also dive into the news that came out of Comic-Con while they were busy doing everything in their power to avoid Hall H like the plague.

Download, play, and feel as if you too were there…unless you were actually there, in which case you probably already feel that way.

Have differing opinions about the various Comic-Con news bites? Sound off below! Do it!

 


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Ash & Fern: One ticket, please!

I’ll never forget the first time I went to a movie by myself. It was about two years ago, I had a job that involved working weekends with Mondays and Thursdays off. Basically all of my free time was on days when all of my friends were cooped up in their offices all day, so I was booooored.

 

 

 

One day I realized that I hadn’t been to a movie in months, something that seemed almost unimaginable to me. After a few days of giving myself pep talks and working up the courage, I finally did it. I walked (terrified) into a movie theater (not my usual theater of course, I couldn’t risk someone recognizing me), bought one ticket to Act of Valor, and hurried to find a seat before anyone noticed that I was alone. I was too nervous to even stop at the concession stand and I ALWAYS do that. My heart continued to pound until the previews began and I could disappear under the dimmed lights.

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Out of all these seats, you chose the front row?

All of those years I thought it must be so sad to go to a movie by yourself. In fact I used to tease my dad mercilessly about his solo movie trips when I was a kid. I thought everyone would stare at me, feel sorry for the girl that didn’t have any friends to go see a movie with. And then of course there were the logistical concerns. Who would watch my stuff or save my seat if I had to go to the bathroom? Hold my drink when I stopped to put butter on my popcorn? Tell me what that guy just said when I inevitably missed a mumbled line of dialogue? You can imagine my shock when none of these imagined problems actually came to pass.

I was surprised that I had survived my first time going to the movies alone. I was even more surprised when I finally admitted to myself that I had enjoyed it. I realized there’s nothing more relaxing than sitting in a dark theater for a couple of hours on a random afternoon without having to make small talk with anyone. And walking to my car after the movie without the obligatory “so what did you think” conversation? What a relief!

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Elysian peace.

Though it admittedly took several more months before I worked up the courage to go by myself on a Friday or Saturday night, ever since that fateful day solo trips have become my preferred method of movie viewing. It’s not that I don’t like going to movies with friends. Sometimes there’s nothing better than going to a midnight premiere with Ash, and then spending the next day texting each other about how we’re too old for that shit. Or when the newest dumb comedy comes out (you know the one, usually Seth Rogen is in it) I have to see that with the friends with whom the quotes will be flying for the next 3 months. But most of the time, I’d rather just do my own thing. And not having to pick a time several days in advance, crossing my fingers that at go-time I’ll actually feel like going to a movie? Huge bonus.

So that’s how I found myself wearing sweatpants and sitting in a packed theater Sunday morning, waiting for Guardians of the Galaxy to start and briefly chatting with the new friends on either side of me, both also solo movie-goers. (That’s another thing I’ve noticed since becoming a connoisseur of the loner movie trip, there’s a lot of us out there!) I loved Guardians, I knew I would, but I think I loved it just a little bit more because I saw it by myself.

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Now the video of baby Groot dancing? That is meant to be shared with friends. And coworkers. And everyone I’ve ever met…

I know it’s probably not for everyone. But for an introvert forced to live in an endlessly social world, those 2 hours in a dark theater are a miracle for me. And since apparently no one believes me when I say I went to bed at 9pm, it’s the only time I have a valid excuse to not respond to a text message right away.

If you’ve never done it, I recommend you give it a shot. Just buy a ticket and pick a seat, I promise it’s not nearly as scary as it seems! Already a fan? Let me know what you love about it. And maybe I’ll see you at the movies!
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Somebody Likes It Ep 4 – Bon Jovi: “Slippery When Wet”

Excerpts from Shane Bartell’s Diary

Dear Diary-I’ve never felt sadistic until right now. I’ve told Kevin and Ryan that the next album I’ve chosen for us to discuss is Bon Jovi-“Slippery When Wet”. I know we’ve all been friends for many years, and I know that SHOULD provide some goodwill…but will they actually/eventually forgive me? Can I forgive myself for making them cram that nonsense into their ears…we’ll see.
—Shane

Dear Diary- After attempting an initial listen, I now know that the goodwill I was counting on might not be enough. Even now, I’m steeling myself for a second dive into this cesspool. So far I’ve only been able to stomach 2 songs. I’ve already gotten a few late night texts from Ryan about how much he hates me for making him do this, and while I think he’s kidding (mostly), I really can’t tell anymore.
—Shane

Dear Diary- What was I thinking? I thought this would be funny, and though it is, I can say with all seriousness that I wasn’t counting on the fact that I ALSO HAVE TO LISTEN TO THESE SONGS. My bones feel sore, like a low grade flu.
—Shane

Dear Diary- Why does Jon Bon Jovi constantly reference the “bottle”?
—Shane

Dear Diary- I’ve finally made it through all the songs. I feel kind of worn out. Exhausted. Well, drowsy really. I mean these songs aren’t tiring as much as they are boring. Don’t get me wrong, they are bad, and offensive, and confusing, but the overall effect is one of “change the channel” rather than run and hide. I’m left with a lot of questions, hopefully we’ll address many of those when we record. I know a lot of people really love this album, and after surviving a listen to the full record I’m ultimately left with a question. WHY? And also why——(unintelligible)—-
—Shane

There’s more where that came from, but I fell asleep at the keys so we’ll just leave it there. Next week was supposed to be Hole-“Live Through This”, but at the 11th hour Kevin changed his mind, and we had to navigate the mines that make up “Straight Outta Compton”…(not quite a pun, but kinda punny!!!) See you in 7 days…Shane

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